Vampire's Reign
by Krys A. Night
Summary: In home where barely anyone notices her, Ginny decides to slip out one night and runs into a cloaked stranger. Little does she know her entire life is about to change.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any original characters.

* * *

I take one more fleeting look over my shoulder at the house that I have called a home for so long, its stifling walls and over protective inhabitants. Being the only girl in a family of six brothers can make any girl wish for just a few moments of reprieve. I give a deep sigh, why was I even bothering to sneak; they wouldn't notice that I was missing anyway, not like they'd care. The twins would, but it's not like they would rat me out for something that had been their idea in the first place.

Walking away, I pull my hood up around my face, hiding the trademark red hair and freckles with a deep shadow. Mother had been harsh, but what had I been expecting, sunshine and hugs. It's never been like that, not with her. She was always the first person to step up with cruel words and hostile glares. I was really only part of the family by name, taking care of all the mundane tasks that she thought was beneath her. Ready to snap if I made even the slightest mistake in her perfect routine, ready to debase me in the eyes of the rest of my family, only the twins gave me refuge.

Molly probably doesn't even realize that I'm not in my bed. Choosing instead to check up on bloody Potter and the Weasel, the only thing that I had been useful to her recently is to make sure that Potter was rightly married into the family, she wants to sink her claws into him that badly. Practically throwing me at him, it made my skin crawl with the need to get away from him and everything that he represented, not that I was likely to rush into the arms of the Death Eaters but damn right coming close, and the bloody git that he was. Just lapping up all of the attention that he has pouring over him. For someone who claims not to want it, doesn't do much to stop it.

The streets of Ottery St. Catchpole were almost deserted. There was practically nothing to do in this small town anyway. Then again, it was better than cooped up in the house, Molly has been practically breathing down my neck to make sure her precious little slave didn't fall into the wrong hands. Not that she loves me; since I was born I was different from the rest. The events of my first year all but proving that I was going to be the bed egg in the bunch. No thought that I had no choice in what I was doing.

I take the street out of the village, the darkness and the calm soothing me more than anything I could do in the house. When I was the farthest from the village, I heard the stealthy movements of someone following me. Stopping myself from cursing under my breath, there wasn't much that I could do, using magic would only bring notice to me that was completely unnecessary. With the Ministry of Magic still denying that Voldemort has risen again, the slightest infractions were punished to the highest degree possible. A way to chip at Potty's power base I suppose.

I felt my anger flaring, and I stop dead in the middle of the road, tired of this one-sided game of cat and mouse. The person walks up to me calmly, like they too were out for a midnight stroll.

"What do you want?" I demand, my temper flaring.

"I have not the slightest clue what you are talking about," a voice answers out of the darkness.

"Bloody hell you don't. You've been following me since I left the village, I'm not daft."

The person approaches me; there was an air of controlled violence around the person that brought goose-bumps to my skin.

"You noticed me?" the voice asks.

"I'd have to be blind to not notice you following me," I snap.

The person came up next to me, and an unusual set of eyes stares out at me from beneath the hood. I feel myself falling into these eyes; I pull back, shaking my head slightly.

"Good," the person hisses, "meet me here again tomorrow night, and we'll see what happens then."

He… She… It vanishes and I'm left staring at empty air. Not even the sound of an apparition to explain this unusual phenomenon. I sigh under my breath, a thrill running through my body. Someone has finally noticed the youngest Weasley, a savior, or my downfall. I turn and make my journey home, all the while mulling it over in my head what just occurred. At least I can't complain that this break is going to be boring.

I slip back into the house, holding my breath waiting for the sounds of Molly on a rampage, but it didn't come. Chuckling to myself at my paranoia, I slip up the stairs to my room, using a pattern to avoid the creaking of the stairs. The twins had taught me this when they began to see how Molly was going to treat me.

Closing my bedroom door, a hand comes from behind and claps itself down over my mouth.

"Make a sound, and I will kill you," Potter's voice hisses near my ear.

I make to bite down on the hand over my mouth.

"Petrificus Totalus," he hisses, my mouth freezing.

He slips his hand out from between my teeth, a dark glint in his eyes.

"Let's see what these clothes hide now shall we?" he mutters more to himself than to me.

There is a ripping noise as he tears the clothes from my body, pushing me onto my childhood bed.

"Very nice, if a little plain, but you'll do nicely," he whispers disrobing himself.

I try to fight the spell, my body refusing to move. I felt the tears in my eyes as he approaches. I all but scream in pain as he wrenches my legs apart, I felt something snap.

I felt something prodding me lower, and I panicking, I try to fight the curse off even more, but it held firm and true. I make a high keening noise, and he whips his wand over me, muttering the silencing charm before hitting me full across the face with the back of his hand.

He shifts his hips forward violently and I try to scream, the pain overwhelming. His fists continue to hit me as they fall, and I can feel my tears begin to fall faster. I was being raped in my own house, and no one was going to be able to save me.

He was done in a few moments, cleaning himself up with a few quick spells after examining the blood that had pooled between my thighs.

"So you had been a virgin after all?" he sneers, "tell anyone about this, and I'll say you threw yourself at me. Who would they believe me or you?"

He leaves, and once the door was shut he took the curses off. I curl into a ball on the corner of my bed, tears falling freely. I should have fought back; I should have done something instead of just lay here. I don't know how long I had been sitting here, but at the first signs of someone in the house stirring, I grab clothing and rush to the bathroom. Turning on the shower full blast, I try to scrub him off of me, the tears falling faster. I feel violated, and I knew that Molly would believe him over me.

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A.N.: No, I have not forgot about Angels in the Shadows, I just had an idea for this and I decided to run with it . Hope you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

I hear the door shut to Ron's room, not giving a shit anymore I wave my wand at my door, feeling the wards go into place, and a strong locking charm. I curl into a corner of my room, pressing my back flat against the wood. I could feel the tears still streaming down my face, deep down, he would play it off to Ron like I was willing. Even though Ron would be sickened, he would believe his best mate over his own bloody flesh and blood. Molly would just be pleased that she was one step closer to sinking her claws in Potter, and not give one shit farther how it had happened. Only the twins would be on my side.

I saw the rosy edge of dawn start to flow through the windows, I slip out of the wards, not bothering to take them down, clutching clean clothes and my bathrobe close to my body. I lock the bathroom door behind me and turn the hot water on before stepping under the boiling spray. I scrub until my skin was pink, and I felt like I was about to scrub all of the skin off of my body. I still felt dirty. I was finishing up washing for the umpteenth time before I heard the pounding on the bathroom door.

"GINERVA! GET YOUR ARSE DOWNSTAIRS AND SET THE TABLE FOR BREAKFAST!" Molly screeched through the closed door, "AND STOP WASTING THE HOT WATER!"

I turn the water off, getting dressed in old clothes that show nothing of my figure. I say a silent prayer for six older brothers and hand-me down clothing. I slip down the stairs before Molly could start yowling like a cat on her death bed in heat again.

I pick up the dishes, and set the table quickly before Molly starts to just hand dishes behind her, assuming that I would be there to grab them before she let go. Heaven forbid that I drop a plate because I just wasn't there. She'd skin me alive. Ron came ambling down a few minutes after the dishes had been set down, probably lured by the smell of the food. The twins came down next, their grins faltering when they saw the pain in my eyes. Harry came down last, a self-satisfied smile on his face. The prat, I don't even want to stay in the same house as him anymore. At least the summer break was almost over.

As if cued by the thought, there was a rustling of wings as owls flew through the window, dropping identical letters in front of all of us. I open mine, and I fight to drop my jaw in shock. I was going to skip my fifth year and go right into the sixth. I found myself wondering if the bloody dream team would even notice I was in the same classes as them.

Another owl flew through the window, dropping its letter between Harry and Ron.

"Mum, do you think that we could stay at Diagon Alley for the rest of the summer. Hermione's got rooms for us all already," Ron mutters.

"If that's what you realley want," Molly says.

Damn it, if we're going to be in Diagon Alley, then it's going to be harder for me to keep my promise to the stranger. I finish the little bit of food that I had manage to get off of the plates before the vacuums could steal it all.

"I'm going to go up and get my things together for the rest of the summer," I mutter, climbing the stairs.

I hear two sets of feet following me, and without turning around I knew that it was Fred and George.

Before I could open the door to my room, I hear Ron's voice floating up, "oh. Hermione didn't get a room for the twins or Ginny. Do you think they would be offended if they stayed here?"

"Of course they wouldn't. The twins would rather stay here and play with their experimentations, and if they stay, so must Ginny to take care of them," Molly says, her voice final.

I put a small smile on my face, the rest of the summer, without Molly or Arthur. The twins were old enough to Apparate, even passed the test, which was surprising in and of itself, they came into my room silently.

"I take it you heard what was said downstairs," Fred says.

"Yes, I did. I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer without them. Especialley Potty," I snarl.

"What happened last night?" George asks, his voice soft.

"Well, I took the walk that you suggested, and it was calming, being out of the house. I ran into a stranger, and I made plans to meet him again tonight. But when I got back…" I stop, my voice seizing up.

"What happened?" Fred urges softly.

"Potter was waiting for me," I whisper, curling into a tight ball on my bed.

"What did he do?" George asks quietly.

"He… he…" I try.

"Did he force himself upon you?" Fred asks quietly.

I could only nod my head.

"That bloody prat. After we invite him into our home and take care of him, rescue him from those bloody muggles that he lives with. This is how he repays us, he's going to bloody pay for what he did to our baby sister," George snarls.

"Don't… don't do anything. He has Molly eating out of the palm of his hand. I'll be sent… back….back," I stutter.

"You'll never be sent back there, Ginny. Even if they have to kill us, you will never be sent back there," Fred whispers, climbing onto the bed and cradling me to his chest.

"FRED, GEORGE. YOU TAKE GINNY TO DIAGON ALLEY WITH YOU TWO. WE'RE ALREADY LEAVING," Molly screeches up the stairs.

"Good riddance," George hisses.

He sits on the bed in front of us, hugging me and Fred. We sat there for a few minutes, then George get up.

"Let's get to Diagon Alley, get our school things and leave. I don't want to see that bloody prat," Fred says behind me.

He gently pushes me to my feet.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you. I'm in the 6th year now," I tell them.

"Congratulatons," they say in unison, pulling me into a hug between them.

There was the uncomfortable pressure as we apparated to Diagon Alley. Fred goes into Gringotts. They had been selling their pranks for as long as they had been able to. With a little help from me, they were able to keep their little secret from Molly. They already had a tidy sum saved up in their bank, and didn't think it beneath them to splurge a little bit on their little sister.

Our purchases tightly under our arm, we apparate back to the Burrow, I dump my things into my trunk, not even bothering to unwrap anything. Granger would have been hounding me to start to read my school books now, get ahead of the rest of my class. I found myself wondering what she's going to think when her spot as top student in the class will be overturned. She had been so far up Potty and Ron's ass to even realize that my grades were better than hers.

There was a soft knock on my door, George calls softly through the door, "Ginny, if you're going to meet the stranger. Be careful."

I get up and open the door, "I always am. Potty took me by surprise. A mistake that I'm not likely to make again."

"Still, just make sure that you're careful," Fred says over his shoulder.

I give them a soft smile as I put on my cloak and head down the stairs. I close my eyes as I start to head towards Ottery St. Catchpole, through and then out onto the street beyond. Like yesterday, I could hear the person behind me, trying to be stealthy. I stop and turn.

"Again?" a male voice asks.

"Again, you really do suck at sneaking around," I tell him.

"Actually, you're the only one to notice me," he answers.

"Then they must be really daft."

He reaches up and pulls back his hood, a wide smile on his face.

"You mess with their head, so they don't even know you're coming," I whisper.

"You're not afraid?" He asks.

"Should I be?"

"I'm here to offer you all that I have. If you'll accept it?"

I close my eyes. An offer to escape my family and escape Potter, I look him in the eye and nod firmly.

He approaches, brushing my hood off of my face. Keeping his eyes on mine he lowers his head to my neck. His fangs pierce my skin and I start to fight, struggling against him instinctively. I heard him chuckle low in his throat.

_Fight, ma flamme, fight. The more that you struggle and fight, the stronger that you will be_, his voice whispers in my mind.

I fight against him like Fred and George had taught me. I push him off and punch him, it felt like I hit a brick wall. He's back against my neck before I could blink. I struggle as a my vision begins to fade, as the darkness comes up to meet me, I feel a cool liquid being dribbled into my mouth. I swallow reflexively. The darkness washes over me.


	3. Chapter 3

Damian looks out of place, reclining in an armchair by the fire in The Burrow. Fred and George are looking at him curiously.

"You were the one to change our little sister?" Fred asks his voice cold.

"Yes, I was. She is destined for great things," Damian answers, "as you can see as well as I, she is not being negatively affected. She is in good hands, and I will get her up to certain level, and there are two vampires in Hogwarts that will be there to continue her education."

"Hypothetical situation, what if her Mother sends her to St. Mungo's to be 'cured'. What would you do?" George asks.

"Well, I would get her out. They have no right to withhold her from me. Her ties to me, legally precede those of her original family. Legally, she is Weasley in name only. If her parents choose to disown her, then she will legally be able to take up my last name," Damian explains.

"Then, she is completely and truly safe under your wing," Fred assures.

"Oui," Damian affirms.

"Ginny, you made the right decision, though rash," George tells me.

"I know that I did. In my free time, I researched the Wizarding laws. I knew what I was doing when I accepted his offer," I tell them.

Fred makes little sniffing noises, hiding his eyes leaning on George, "our little sister is all grown up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, stop the dramatics," I mutter.

"They are quite amusing ma flamme," Damian says, "I can see why they are so dear to you."

"Ma flamme?" George asks.

"My flame," I tell him.

"Since when did you speak French?" Fred asks.

"What was it, last week?" I ask Damian.

"Oui, you just pick up on the language very fast," Damian answers.

"The only other question is, does she need to drink blood frequently?" George asks, rubbing his throat sub-conciously.

"Non, that is merely a legend that began, and we keep it going so that curious mortals do not come up to us with stupid questions," Damian replies casually, "most of the time, vampires only drink blood when they change someone. It is impossible to change someone unless they have first drunk their blood."

"So we don't have to worry about Ginerva drinking from us in the middle of the night?" Fred asks.

"Non," Damian answers, giggling, "when do you return to school?"

"We're leaving tomorrow," George replies.

"Then I have a letter that I'm going to need to send out soon," Damian says nonchalantly.

"I think that this is one question, even Ginny forgot to ask. What is your rank amongst the vampires?" Fred asks him.

Damian looks unsettled, "I am their ruler."

"And what does this make Ginerva?" Fred asks.

"She is their heir, and when she come into her full powers, I will step down," Damian answers, his joking gone.

"That won't be for a while yet, will it?" George asks.

"Oui. It takes years for a vampire to come into their full powers," Damian answers.

I get up quickly and leave the house, trying to wrap my mind around what he just told me. I play with my earring, thinking. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Fred and George start to go after me, but stopped with a gentle hand on their arm by Damian. Out of all of them, he is the only one that has been able to see the real me.

The night wind picks up, and I could feel the beginnings of sunrise on the horizon. Damian would have to leave soon, I finger the tiger's-eye. It gave me the ability to walk in the sun. Stones that I thought meant nothing before mean things now, and combinations of stones mean different things. One would never think that wearing bloodstone would be able to boost the power that you have. I turn and go inside to say good-bye to Damian, then get everything ready to go to King's Cross.

* * *

I stare at Blaise as he tries to keep his seat, refraining from pacing.

"I guess I don't even need to ask if you got the letter," I drawl, my voice calm.

"Of course I got the letter; it's not every day that you get a letter from him. He's certain that she will know us, but… I just want to make sure," he says, his voice calmer than he showed.

"You also forget that we will know who she is as well, the ability to recognize each other is part of the deal," I tell him.

"What if it's a Gryf, looks down her nose at us just because we're Slytherin? I don't want Damian angry at me because whoever this person is declined our help," he snaps.

We both sit up straighter in our chair, and I see a flash of red through the window. She had stopped in front of our compartment.

"Ginerva Weasley," I hiss quietly.

"Just what I feared," he replies quietly.

She turns and locks eyes with us through the window. I could see the surprise in her eyes, but not on her face. She nods her head in our direction and I see two identical faces peering in the window. They had similar looks on their faces, one of the reaches forward and opens the door, holding it for Ginerva to come through. Before closing it behind them.

There was a small commotion as they got their trunks settled in the racks overhead. Ginerva sits next to me, and the twins sit on either side of Blaise. I don't envy him his position.

"How long?" I finally manage.

"The day that we all got our letters," she replies, her voice soft.

She closes her eyes briefly, then opens them again, "can we call a truce. Our houses hate each other, our families hate each other. I don't want that to get in the way of anything here. I could care less what house you come from, it's supposed to be mine as well, I don't care what family you come from. Since you are a vampire, you cannot follow the Dark Lord, not without Damian's permission and he won't give it."

"I don't hate you, I could care less about the blood feud, and even less about what house you're in. Are you really supposed to be a Slytherin?" I explain quickly.

"Yes," she answers.

"I don't hate you either, Ginerva," Blaise adds quietly.

I could see Fred and George visibly relax. Rumor is that they're fiercely protective of their younger sister, and have left quite a few people in the hospital wing for saying something negative about her. I don't wish for my name to be added to that list.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for all those who have read my story, and to all those who have left me reviews.

Disclaimer: I only own the plotline, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling and her associated publishing houses and production companies.

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"Well, now that we have these niceties out of the way, let's just enjoy the ride to the castle," Draco mutters.

"Draco, didn't the letter say that we were to watch over Ginerva until she left Hogwarts, Damian set us up to fail," Blaise mutters quickly, the realization dawning on him.

"We're going to graduate a full year ahead of her," he whispers.

"Stop talking like I'm not here," Ginerva snaps at them, "and he didn't set you up to fail."

"But you're a year behind us, how can it not be that situation?" Draco asks, trying to ignore the glares he's getting from the twins.

"Because I'm a sixth year," she answers proudly.

"But you were a fourth year, last year. What changed?" Blaise asks quietly.

"I got skipped ahead a year," she answers.

"That's only been done a handful of times throughout the entire history of Hogwarts. That means that your scores have been perfect from the time that you got to the school," Draco says in awe.

"Well, when you don't really have a social life, it means that you have a lot more time to study, without having to worry about making time to hang out with people," she snaps.

The door to the compartment opens as the trolley lady looks in. George gets up and slips out to talk to her quietly. She passes him everything that he asked for as he hands her the money. When he comes back in, he drops the chocolate frogs in Ginerva's laps before splitting what was left with his twin.

The tension that had been slowly building in the room dissipated at her announcement. Though it would have been hard to believe that Damian would have set them up to fail at something like this.

Ginerva's head snapped up at the sounds of a commotion in the hallways.

"Where's my sister!" A familiar voice cries out, "there's something that she has to explain to me!"

She pulled down the blinds to the compartment, casting a disillusionment spell, a glare at the twins to do the same before her eyes disappeared. Looking at each other quickly, they cast the spell on themselves. Blasie could feel them moving to stand on the bench.

The door to the compartment flew open, the Golden Trio standing in the door way looking around the compartment for a flash of red hair. Their eyes landed on Draco and Blaise and the two boys were taken aback at the look of madness in those eyes.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the two little junior death eaters," Harry snarled, "I'm surprised that you're back in school. I thought that you would be licking your masters boots for a better position in their circle."

"Potter," Draco drawls, "why would we not come back to school? We have two years left."

"And then it's time to take the Dark Mark right?" Ron snaps, "like the good little scum that you are."

"You shouldn't jump to conclusions," Blaise mutters.

"Why shouldn't we, you're _Slytherins_," Hermione growls, "it's your life ambition to bow down to You-Know-Who."

"At least I can see what's right beyond the end of my nose," Draco hisses.

The Trio looks at each other, turns their noses up in the air and they waltz back out of the compartment.

"Gin, did you know about that attitude?" one of the twins asks.

There was silence in the compartment as Draco and Blaise look at each other. They had thought that the Weasley family was all about togetherness, and loving all equally. But that attitude was not something that you just pick up overnight, it is something that is ingrained for years.

"Yes. You know how Molly is, it seems like she finally has her little prodigies right where she wants them. She wants to sit back and say that it was her who trained the boy-who-didn't-die to what it took to defeat the Dark Lord," Ginny finally answers.

There was a slight pressure as a locking charm was placed on the door and Ginerva drops the disillusionment charm. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, and there was a faraway look in her eyes as she stared at the floor.

"Oh, Gin. That reminds us," the twins begin in unison.

"We got you something for your birthday," Fred continues.

"But with everything that happened," George continues.

"We forgot to give it to you," Fred says.

"So we're calling it a belated birthday, congrats on skipping a year present," they finish in unison.

They both reach into their pockets and take out a couple bags. Removing the shrinking charm on them, they hand them to her.

Draco and Blaise watch as she uncurls herself from the bench and takes the bags from her brothers and aims the openings of the bags at them as she opens them. When nothing happens, she peeks in carefully. Her eyes light up as she dumps the bag out onto her lap.

Draco's eyebrow arches when she realizes that she has a lapful of rather expensive art supplies. She repeats the same procedure with the other bag, and a range of sketch books falls out. The twins stood there, smiles on their faces. She beckons them down, and kisses them both on the cheek.

"Thank you," she squeals, dumping the pile into Draco's lap as she reaches into the racks and digs around in her trunk, looking for something. Blaise chuckled lightly at the look on his friends face.

There was a small aha, as Ginerva slams her trunk shut again and sits down with an elaborately carved box in her lap. She pulls out her wand and taps a rhythm on the top of it. The bottom drawer opens up and expands. She lifts the sketchbooks out of his lap and sorts through them until she decides on which one she would like to use.

"Where did you get that?" Blaise finally asks, looking at the box with undisguised interest.

"I found it in a store, and the twins bought it for me a few years ago as a birthday present," Ginerva answers, "I've always had a talent for art, but I could never really keep anything."

"Why is that?" Draco asks quietly.

She looks at him sharply, then looks back down to her art supplies as she continues to sort them, "Well, Molly never really liked the fact that I could draw. She thought that it was a waste of time, so whenever I drew something she would throw it in the fire. Told me that the time I spent making pretty pictures could be better spent learning how to clean the house without magic, or cooking to please my future husband. So, the twins got this for me. You have to know the right codes to tap on the top of it, or else it won't open. And it can't be forced or destroyed."

Draco could feel the anger building up in him, looking over at Blaise confirmed that he felt the same way.

"Who's Molly?" Blaise finally asks.

"Mother," George answers, signaling that asking any more questions about that won't end well.

Draco closes his mouth, understanding that he was sitting next to someone who was potentially dangerous.

"Can we see some of your sketches?" Draco finally asks.

Ginerva opens the bottom of the box again and takes out the sketchbook that she had just finished filling and hands it to him. Looking up at one of the twins he motions with his eyes for tone of them to switch places with him.

George gets up and takes his seat. Blaise leans in closer to Draco when he opens the book. And both boys look down at the drawings and realize that Ginerva is talented. The first sketch was of the twins, smiling up from the page.

Ginerva's eyes look up at the two boys who had been set to guard and teach her. She takes out one of the pencils that the twins had just bought her. She opens to the first page; that book was started with the two brothers that had stood by her. It was only right that this one start with the two boys who are going to help her into her new future.

The train ride flew by, the twins playing a card game, Draco and Blaise having confiscated her sketchbooks to look through them while Ginerva sketched. When they pulled into the Hogsmeade station she was surprised to see that it had gone by so quickly. Standing up, she pulls on a set of robes over her street clothes and closes all the sketch books back into the box before shrinking it and putting it into her pocket.

"Time to head up to the school," she says, her voice resigned.


	5. Chapter 5

They walk off the train quickly and hop into the closest empty carriage, closing it behind them and drawing the blind down.

"Why don't you want the bloody trio to see you?" Draco finally asks.

"I'd prefer not to talk about it," Ginerva whispers, shrinking back into the seat.

Fred and George look at each other, "what kind of song do you think that hat will sing again this year? Another one about the entire school unifying against the outside threat," George mutters.

"Or some such rot at that. I don't care too much about this Moldy Voldy hype," Fred says, "I'm actually glad that we no longer have to take a part in it."

"Yea, being neutral is so much better. Don't want to follow either madman," George continues, "another bonus of this, is that we no longer have to play nice."

As Ginerva slowly calms down, Fred and George shoot Draco a look that promised a lot of pain, and was going to happen when he least expected it. He made a small motion with his hands, showing that he didn't know to not ask that question.

There was a slight lessening of the look, but it was still focused on him. Draco was fighting the urge to duck out of the carriage and try his luck sprinting the rest of the way up to the school. Blaise laid a careful hand on his knee, and when he looked up there was anger in his partner's eyes. Anger at whoever had made Ginerva react this way to a simple question.

The carriage jolts to a stop in front of the steps, and they all pile out. Exchanging brief nods before slipping away into the main hall for the Sorting Feast. Draco and Blaise to the Slytherin table, and Fred, George and Ginerva to the Gryffindor one, sitting to wait while the rest of their classmates filed in.

Blaise and Draco watch with enthusiasm as the Trio walks in, their face obviously angry, the anger settling in even more when they realize that they lost out on the ability to sit near Ginerva. Fred and George flanked her on both sides, while the twins had managed to scare up a few of their friends to fill the seats across from them.

They both laughed softly when the Trio stood behind the people across from the others, as if trying to say without words that they were in their seats. Fred looks up and sees them, then indicates that their entire group should move three seats over, so the Trio could sit down.

Though they could not see their faces, it was obvious in their posture that they were not happy with the seating arrangements.

"They probably think that those other three should have stood up and moved, leaving them to sit across from Gin and the twins," Blaise whispers.

"I'm just surprised that they sat with their backs facing us," Draco mutters back, "I mean, according to them, we're all junior Death Eaters."

"Yes, but they are probably under the impression that we wouldn't do anything to harm them, being at Hogwarts with Dumbledore as Headmaster."

Blaise rolls his eyes. "Even though he thinks that there is nothing that can keep him from this position, I don't think that he even realizes some of what goes in within the walls of Slytherin. He preaches about house equality and everyone getting along, but he does nothing to enforce it."

Draco covers his mouth and yawns slightly, "at least the feast will be over soon and we can retire for the night."

"Do you think she'll venture down to the dungeons tonight?"

Draco shrugs and looks over at Ginerva, engrossed in conversation with Fred and George.

"She might," he responds finally.

Dinner passed much too slow for Ginerva. She was just waiting for the moment when they were all released from the Great Hall and were allowed to return to their common rooms. A headache was throbbing behind her eyes, her cheeks hurts from forcing smiles on her face whenever the illustrious trio deigned to look in her direction. Fred and George were muttering threats under their breath, and she didn't know how much longer they would able to be civil.

As if reading the tension at the Gryffindor table, Dumbledore finally announces that it is time for the prefects to lead the younger students up to the common rooms. Ginerva stands with a sigh and joins the other prefects in rounding up the younger students and ushering them towards the tower.


End file.
